Suitcase receiving garment hanging system

ABSTRACT

A suitcase receiving garment hanging system includes a garment supporting assembly including a base and a vertical support attached to and extending upwardly from the base. A top member is attached to and positioned above the vertical support. The top member is positioned above the base and is elongated to support an article of clothing such that the article of clothing is draped over the top member. The garment supporting assembly is positionable in a suitcase such that the base is positioned on a first wall of the suitcase, the top member is positioned adjacent to a second wall of the suitcase located opposite of the first wall, and a portion of the article of clothing is positioned between the top member and the second wall.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to non-wrinkling garment hanging devices and more particularly pertains to a new non-wrinkling garment hanging device for allowing a person to store garments, such as sport coats or other similar articles of clothing within a suitcase, such that the article of clothing is not wrinkled. More specifically, the device herein allows a sport coat to hang, in a folded configuration, within a suitcase when the suitcase is placed in an upright orientation.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to methods of folding clothing and devices for holding clothing articles within a suitcase such that the clothing articles are not easily wrinkled while being positioned within a suitcase. However, these methods and devices do not adequately prevent wrinkles to garments including, but not limited to, sport coats which are often removed and stowed during traveling and which cannot easily be pressed while traveling.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a garment supporting assembly including a base having a top side, a bottom side, a first end, and a second end. A vertical support is attached to and extends upwardly from the base. A top member is attached to and is positioned above the vertical support. The top member is positioned above the base and is elongated along a line that is orientated parallel to a line extending through first and second ends. The top member is configured to support an article of clothing such that the article of clothing is draped over the top member. The garment supporting assembly is positionable in a suitcase such that the base is positioned on a first wall of the suitcase, the top member is positioned adjacent to a second wall of the suitcase located opposite of the first wall, and a portion of the article of clothing is positioned between the top member and the second wall.

Another embodiment of the disclosure includes a garment supporting assembly comprising a base having a top side, a bottom side, a first end, and a second end. The base is elongated from the first end to the second end. A vertical support is attached to and extending upwardly from the base. A top member is attached to and is positioned above the vertical support. The top member is positioned above the base and is elongated along a line that is orientated parallel to a line extending through first and second ends. The top member is configured to support an article of clothing such that the article of clothing is draped over the top member. A suitcase has a plurality of walls including a first wall and a second wall positioned opposite from each other. The suitcase is elongated from the first wall to the second wall, wherein the first wall defines a bottom wall when the suitcase is standing upright. The garment supporting assembly is removably positioned in the suitcase such that the base is positioned on the first wall of the suitcase and the top member is positioned adjacent to the second wall such that the article of clothing is positionable between the top member and the second wall.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of a garment supporting assembly of a suitcase receiving garment hanging system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front isometric view of an embodiment the garment supporting assembly of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of an embodiment the garment supporting assembly of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an embodiment the garment supporting assembly of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a front cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 7 thereof, a new non-wrinkling garment coat hanging device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 7 , the suitcase receiving garment hanging system 10 generally comprises a garment supporting assembly 12 having a base 14 with a top side 16, a bottom side 18, a first end 20, and a second end 22. The base 14 is elongated from the first end 20 to the second end 22. The base 14 further has a front side 24 and a back side 26. The base 14 typically has a depth from the front side 22 to the back side 26 that is less than 5 inches. The base 14 has a length from the first end 20 to the second end 22 that is between 4 inches and 20 inches, though this measurement may be determined based upon the size of a suitcase 28 in which the base 14 is positioned as will be further explained below. The base 14 has a height from the bottom side 18 to the top side 16 which is typically less than 4 inches and which may be less than 0.5 inches. The base 14 may include a central section 30 and a pair of end sections 32 wherein the end sections 32 have a greater depth than the central section 30. The end sections 32 thereby serve as stabilizers to retain the garment supporting assembly 12 in an upright condition.

A vertical support 34 is attached to and extends upwardly from the base 14. The vertical support 34 is secured to the base 14 in a rigid manner and a connection between the vertical support 34 and the base 14 may be an integral one. The vertical support 34 may include a panel or may include a single leg or post. As is shown in the Figures, the vertical support 34 may comprise a pair of legs 36 that are laterally spaced from each other. FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment wherein the legs 36 are solid along their height and have a fixed height. FIG. 2 teaches another embodiment comprising conventional telescopic legs allowing a user of the garment supporting assembly 12 to selectively alter the height of the legs 36.

A top member 38 is attached to and is positioned above the vertical support 34. The top member 38 is positioned above the base 14 and is elongated along a line that is orientated parallel to a line extending through first 22 and second 22 ends. The top member 38 will typically be directly above and aligned with the base 14 to further support the garment supporting assembly 12 remaining in a vertical orientation. The top member 38 is configured to support an article of clothing 40 such that the article of clothing is draped over the top member. The article of clothing 40 may comprise different types of articles but in particular will include items such as a sport coat for which wrinkling is to avoided. The top member 38 has an upper surface 42, a bottom surface 43, a forward edge 44, a rearward edge 46, a first lateral edge 48 and a second lateral edge 50, wherein the top member 38 is elongated from the first lateral edge 48 to the second lateral edge 50. The upper surface 42 is convexly arcuate from the forward edge 44 to the rearward edge 46 to further minimize wrinkling to the article of clothing 40. A distance from the first lateral edge 48 to the second lateral edge 50 is greater than 8 inches and a distance from the forward edge 44 to the rearward edge 46 is most generally at least 1 inch and less than 5 inches.

The system 10 utilizes a conventional suitcase 28 having a plurality of walls including a first wall 52 and a second wall 54 positioned opposite from each other. The suitcase 28 is most typically elongated from the first wall 52 to the second wall 54. The first wall 52 defines a bottom wall when the suitcase 28 is standing upright. The suitcase 28 is conventional and therefore will have a front wall 56, rear wall 58, and a perimeter wall 60 extending between the front 56 and rear 58 walls. The perimeter wall 60 of a conventional suitcase typically includes a break 62 to allow access to an interior of the suitcase 28 and is closable with a zipper 64. The garment supporting assembly 12 is positionable in the suitcase 28 such that the base 14 is positioned on the first wall 52 of the suitcase 28 and the top member 38 is positioned adjacent to the second wall 54 of the suitcase 28. The article of clothing 40 is placed on the top member 38 before the garment supporting assembly 12 is placed in the suitcase 28 such that the article of clothing 40 is positioned between the top member 38 and the second wall 54.

With respect to measurements, the garment supporting assembly 12 may be sized to match a size of the suitcase 28 in which it is positioned. The vertical support 34 will most often have a height such that a distance between the bottom side 18 of the base 14 and the upper surface 42 of the top member 38 is 3 inches or less than a distance between the first 52 and second 54 walls. Even more typically, the upper surface 42 is positioned within 2 inches of the second wall 54 when the base 14 is positioned on the first wall 52. Since most suitcases provide a distance from 19 inches to 30 inches between first 52 and second 54 walls, the garment supporting assembly 12 may have a height from 16 inches to 28 inches. Though smaller distances are acceptable, the distance between the first 48 and second 50 lateral edges may typically be within 4 inches of a width of the suitcase measured between its first 64 and second 66 lateral walls.

In use, an article of clothing 40, such as a sport coat, is draped over the top member 38 in a folded configuration that reduces the risk of wrinkles to the sport coat. The garment supporting assembly 12 is then placed in the suitcase 28 as stated above and shown in the Figures. The suitcase 28 can be filled with clothing and personal articles, either before the placement of the sport coat in the suitcase 28, in a conventional manner. When the suitcase 28 is then stood upright, gravity will cause the article of clothing 40 to hang properly to prevent wrinkles from forming therein.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

I claim:
 1. A garment supporting assembly configured to support a garment within a suitcase in such a manner as to prevent wrinkling of the garment, the assembly comprising: a base having a top side, a bottom side, a first end, and a second end; a vertical support being attached to and extending upwardly from the base; a top member being attached to and being positioned above the vertical support, the top member being positioned above the base and being elongated along a line that is orientated parallel to a line extending through first and second ends, the top member being configured to support an article of clothing such that the article of clothing is draped over the top member; and wherein the garment supporting assembly is positionable in a suitcase such that the base is positioned on a first wall of the suitcase, the top member is positioned adjacent to a second wall of the suitcase located opposite of the first wall, and a portion of the article of clothing is positioned between the top member and the second wall.
 2. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 1, wherein the base is elongated from the first end to the second end.
 3. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 2, wherein the base has a front side and a back side, the base having a depth from the front side to the back side being less than 5 inches.
 4. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 3, wherein the base has a length from the first end to the second end being between 4 inches and 20 inches.
 5. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 4, wherein the base has a height from the bottom side to the top side being less than 4 inches.
 6. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 5, wherein the vertical support comprises a pair of legs, the legs being laterally spaced from each other.
 7. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 1, wherein the vertical support comprises a pair of legs, the legs being laterally spaced from each other.
 8. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 6, wherein the top member has an upper surface, a forward edge, a rearward edge, a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge, the top member being elongated from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge, the upper surface being convexly arcuate from the forward edge to the rearward edge.
 9. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 8, wherein a distance from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge is greater than 8 inches.
 10. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 9, wherein a distance from the forward edge to the rearward edge being at least 1 inch and less than 5 inches.
 11. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 1, wherein the top member has an upper surface, a forward edge, a rearward edge, a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge, the top member being elongated from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge, the upper surface being convexly arcuate from the forward edge to the rearward edge.
 12. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 11, wherein a distance from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge is greater than 8 inches.
 13. The garment supporting assembly according to claim 11, wherein a distance from the forward edge to the rearward edge being at least 1 inch and less than 5 inches.
 14. A system for inhibiting wrinkles in a garment, the system including: a garment supporting assembly comprising: a base having a top side, a bottom side, a first end, and a second end, the base being elongated from the first end to the second end; a vertical support being attached to and extending upwardly from the base; a top member being attached to and being positioned above the vertical support, the top member being positioned above the base and being elongated along a line that is orientated parallel to a line extending through first and second ends, the top member being configured to support an article of clothing such that the article of clothing is draped over the top member; a suitcase having a plurality of walls including a first wall and a second wall positioned opposite from each other, the suitcase being elongated from the first wall to the second wall, the first wall defining a bottom wall when the suitcase is standing upright; and the garment supporting assembly being removably positioned in the suitcase such that the base is positioned on the first wall of the suitcase and the top member is positioned adjacent to the second wall such that the article of clothing is positionable between the top member and the second wall.
 15. The system for inhibiting wrinkles in a garment according to claim 14, wherein the base being elongated from the first end to the second end.
 16. The system for inhibiting wrinkles in a garment according to claim 14, wherein the top member has an upper surface, a forward edge, a rearward edge, a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge, the top member being elongated from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge, the upper surface being convexly arcuate from the forward edge to the rearward edge, a distance from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge being greater than 8 inches, a distance from the forward edge to the rearward edge being at least 1 inch and less than 5 inches.
 17. The system for inhibiting wrinkles in a garment according to claim 14, wherein a distance between an upper surface of the top member and the second wall is no greater than 3 inches when the base abuts the first wall.
 18. The system for inhibiting wrinkles in a garment according to claim 16, wherein a distance between the upper surface of the top member and the second wall is no greater than 3 inches when the base abuts the first wall. 